CELLS · Controlled Environment Laboratory for Life Sciences

CELLS (Controlled Environment Laboratory for Life Sciences) aims to support the relocation and development of a research programme by Dr. Gary Stutte and establish a European centre of excellence for Controlled Environment Research at the host organisation Limerick Institute of Technology (Ireland). Dr. Stutte is an expert in hydroponic based controlled environments and space agriculture / horticulture engaged in contract research for NASA at the Dynamac Corporation based at the Space Life Science Laboratory, Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, U.S.A. CELLS will directly address the growing demand for safer, healthier, higher quality food in response to specific dietary needs of consumers using ‘forced evolution’ as a non-GMO technique for the enrichment of target functional molecules within food crops. The strategic and research objectives are to (1) Enable the transfer of knowledge in controlled environment horticulture from the Dynamac Corporation at Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, U.S.A. in Florida to a new research centre at Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) Ireland. (2) Advance the research capabilities of LIT’s “Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre (Shannon ABC)” (www.shannonabc.com) with the ultimate goal of establishing LIT as a recognised centre of excellence for controlled environment production of plants. (3) Develop the facilities to determine the physiological capacity for production of bioactive constituents in functional foods from such sources as agricultural plants, algae, bryophytes and lichen. (4) Develop the facilities for biochemical and biological analysis of plants (5) Establish a facility for the non-destructive assessment and monitoring of bioactive quality during the growth process using spectral characterisation, biochemical profiling of volatiles and assessment of biometric growth parameters. (6) Transfer the knowledge and expertise of the incoming research Fellow to the research team at LIT.""